This is page numbers 127 - 164 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was work.

Topics

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, GNWT has concerns about potential adverse impacts of projects on the population and habitat of transboundary wildlife species while recognizing the potential benefit of any proposed projects. Calving grounds are widely considered, both from a scientific and traditional knowledge perspective, as the most sensitive habitat for migratory barren-ground caribou herds, and so we do take very seriously and look at very closely any projects that are happening within the calving grounds. As the Member noted, we need to do what we can do to protect those calving grounds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President, and thanks to the Minister for that. It sort of sounds like we handled this matter on a case-by-case basis. The next case, though, has come up before us. Grays Bay Road and Port Project will cut through the remaining calving grounds for the Bathurst caribou herd. GNWT did not object in principle to the project, and support a less rigorous review.

A review by a panel under federal legislation would have given us an opportunity to appoint individuals to that panel, would have guaranteed participant funding while still reporting to the same Minister, as a new to impact review board-led review. Can the Minister provide an explanation as to why our government supports a less rigorous review process for the Grays Bay project, where our rights and interests are less likely to be heard? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The GNWT recommended further review and left the decision to the Nunavut Impact Review Board. We felt that the decision for a northern project would be best handled by the North. While there is potential for a federal panel that included GNWT reps, under the land claims agreement, the panel members are appointed by the Nunavut minister and federal minister and there would be no guarantee of NWT representation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I was back home during our break here, I ran into a number of constituents and they were asking about the Employment and Family Assistance Program, and asking for clarification on how it worked. I tried to explain as best I could, but can I get the Minister to please provide us with a brief explanation of how the program works? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Finance.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Employment and Family Assistance Program is a confidential, voluntary-based counselling and referral service available to all GNWT employees and their dependents, to assist with a wide range of personal and work-related issues. The Employment and Family Assistance Program offers a wide range of services, including a variety of mental health services, and can be accessed 24 hours a day. The service allows people to discuss personal problems and concerns in an understanding and professional environment, away from the workplace. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I apologize for not directing my question to the Finance Minister. Thank you for that. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for his answer; however, when I am talking to these people and we're talking about the treatment and that, they've informed me that they have to take sick leave to attend counselling and stuff like that, and this is now an added stress on to people who do not have the sick leave available to them. Can the Minister confirm if this is the process, and if it is, why?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

My understanding is sick leave is used specifically for these purposes. That's why they accumulate sick leave that way, if they have to go out for some type of treatment. If they're away for treatment for a medical condition, sick leave can be advanced if no credits are available, up to 15 days and, if needed, employees can also ask for a payout of annual leave, experiencing financial hardship with being on sick leave without pay.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess it disappoints me that we as a government, and we're doing some really good things with our programs and providing these treatments and trying to help our staff people, but unfortunately, now you have to take your annual and sick leave to deal with it. That's disappointing. Can the Minister please advise this House how supervisors are educating and training on working with staff who are going through a counselling process?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I think I need to point out that this government cares very much about the well-being of its employees, and takes every opportunity to work with them to try and improve their conditions or whatever it is that they may be going through. The collective agreement has a number of provisions in there for different types of leave, so we work with those.

As far as the supervisors trained on working with staff, the accommodation process involves cooperation between the GNWT unions and employees to identify safe, timely, and reasonable measures to accommodate employees. The goal of the accommodation is to have employees remain in the workforce or, if absent, integrated back into the workforce as soon as reasonably and safely possible.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I totally agree that the Government of the Northwest Territories is trying to do what's best for their staff, and at no point in time am I saying they're not. However, I guess my concern is, in listening to the constituents out there, there's a variety of challenges that people are dealing with and they're getting counselling out there, so they're not getting the needed support out there. Can the Minister please advise the process if the staff feels that their supervisor is not treating or understanding their challenges properly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Duty-to-accommodate training is provided to managers and supervisors who provide them with the guidance and tools to manage and support employees in the workplace who are dealing with any type of medical condition. Advice and guidance is also provided to managers by the duty-to-accommodate advisors, and managers also have access to training sessions on managing and supporting employees dealing with medical conditions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Question 46-18(3): Municipalities Funding Gap
Oral Questions

October 19th, 2017

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what is the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs' plan to close the funding gap that we've learned about through the municipal funding review? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are in the process of developing a long-term plan to address the funding gap for municipalities. That is a commitment. Currently what we are doing is every year, there has been an increase in some of the areas from the territorial governments, and we are leveraging with the federal government's monies to access more infrastructure money.

Communities that are at a surplus currently have been kind of topped, or are staying at that level, and then we are focusing on the communities that have a deficit with the new monies that we are bringing in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Is the Minister committed to tabling that strategy in the fall at some point? This is the last day of our sitting. Is the Minister going to table that strategy today?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

No, I am sorry, we are still working on the finalization of the long-term plan, so I do apologize if I made a commitment that I would table it in the fall. I wish I would have said that we will be completing it in the fall, and not mentioning when I would table it.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Mr. Speaker, the longer the government waits to figure this out, the more pressure is going to be put on our communities who are in those deficit positions. The residents of Yellowknife are short-changed by $1 million in funding from this government, and the taxpayers have to foot the bill with the most recent City of Yellowknife budget increasing taxes because there is not enough money to pay for these essential programs the city is working on. Does the Minister think that is fair?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

As stated earlier, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has actually been working quite diligently with the federal government to leverage the infrastructure monies that are coming. Communities such as the City of Yellowknife are actually getting a substantial amount of the federal infrastructure monies, whereas other communities who have a surplus are not getting that amount, so I am not a hundred per cent convinced that any tax increases to the residents of Yellowknife are only because of the $1-million shortfall.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is not the federal government's responsibility to fund our communities. It is this government's responsibility. The city's budgets are done on a calendar year. Can the Minister commit to getting this work done before the end of the calendar year so the city can have certainty about what their fiscal room is going to look like?